


Consort of the Scarlet Emperor

by Nanibgal



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Arranged Marriages, Flipped Hemospectrum, Medieval AU, Multi, Reverse Hemospectrum, Trigger Warning: Emperor Kankri, more tags to come
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-09-11 07:30:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8968408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanibgal/pseuds/Nanibgal
Summary: The land of the trolls, the Empire of Alternia, is ruled by the sacred hemospectrum.  Once, they were under the thrall of a wicked empress who was guarded by a monster that lurked in the deep sea. This changed with the dawning of the Age of the Signless Sufferer, whose visions of paradise, truth, and mercy led to her downfall and reversed the hemospectrum, so that the pious scarlet blooded trolls could rule over the land and all the blood colors under it. Centuries later, Kankri Vantas rules Alternia, and desires a mate who bears the same blood color as he.  This leads him to choose a human duke as his consort.  But Duke David Strider, called Dave, gives his heart to a porter of the lowest blood, a quick witted troll named Eridan Ampora.





	1. Chapter 1

 

In the most dire and momentous occasions, the Golden Triumvirate gathered at Skaia’s capital and took up the three thrones. When the King of Skaia and the rulers of each of Skaia’s two duchies convened, great or terrible events were set into motion: a treaty could be signed in such a meeting, or a war declared. That night, with bronze standing torches lining the hall, such an assembly was called. The three most powerful humans in the world, gathered in one room.

The Grand Duke of Derse, Theodoric “Dirk” Strider, sat attentively on the throne which lay at the king’s right hand. Barely an arm’s length away from the king’s left sat the beautiful Grand Duchess Jane of Prospit. Between them, the King of Kings, Jaya of Skaia, a man of infinite calm and level-headedness. He was once good friends with Dirk’s father, and was an excellent mentor to both him and Jane when they inherited the thrones of their respective parents. Jane’s father had been the king’s own brother. As such, the King and his niece were of the Prospitan race, shorter of stature than Dirk with straighter hair and brown skin. Dirk was a man of Derse, tall and of a darker complexion, his black hair in tight curls around his head. Dirk’s eyes flickered over to the king and then to the ruler of the Prospitan Duchy. She glanced over at him to smile, giving some morsel of reassurance to him and to herself before they turned to their frightening guest of honor.

Not for the first time in Skaia’s recent history, they convened to grant audience to an inhuman delegate; the diplomat towered over every human in the room, easily about eight feet tall, with gray skin and ram-curled horns that began as orange where they came out of her head and faded into pale yellow at the tips. Though she had pinned her hair with the same ornaments as the Prospitans wore, and even wore robes of Prospitan silk, dyed dark red and tailored to her massive height, there was no hiding what she was: a troll from the Alternian Empire. At her sides knelt a pair of even larger trolls, her guards, each in a rough-spun tunic in shades of blue or purple. The cloth and color reflected their lowly station.

The diplomat knelt before the three thrones, and held her hands out with her palms up. Trolls did not bow from the waist, Dirk had been told, unless they were displaying their horns before a fight.

“Noble rulers of Skaia,” she said in lightly accented Prospitan, underscored by the quiet growling noise that accompanied all troll speech, “I send greetings to you from our leader, the pinnacle of the hemospectrum, he who bears the sacred blood, the Scion of the Signless and Ruler of all Trollkind, Emperor Kankri Vantas. I humbly introduce myself as Princess Damara Megido, servant of the empire and ambassador to Skaia.”

Behind her delicate red painted lips, Dirk saw the glimmer of fangs. Her sharp yellow claws hadn’t escaped his notice- though unarmed, a physical confrontation would bode ill for every human in the room, even without the two burlier aids behind her. The armed guards along the walls and flanking the thrones could be swept aside with her hand, to say nothing of the crowd of nobles observing the proceedings but a few feet away. The king’s own son, John, was among them.

King Jaya of the Egberts had a smooth, strong voice that resounded through the audience chamber. “Be welcome in our halls, Princess Damara Megido. You will find us curious to know what word your emperor brings to us from across the sea.”

“Long have we, the trolls of Alternia’s High Council wished to address humankind with talks of…as you say, kinship. In your veins runs blood of a sacred hue, and we would see to it that no troll will spill it.”

Too little too late for that, Dirk thought as he looked the troll woman over. He voiced his thoughts,

“An inordinate number of trolls have taken onto Prospitan shores, some of whom have shed human blood. Fifty humans have perished at troll hands over the past five years.   Not all trolls seem to hold our blood as sacred.”

“Those people,” Jane added, “and their families live on the lands of which I am the direct guardian. The trolls who have settled on Skaian shores have put themselves in the domain granted to me by the King of Kings. The people call out for all trolls to be confined if not evicted entirely from Skaian land, else I fear trade negotiations from here on out will be strained., to say the least. When you spoke directly to me, Princess, you gave the same assurances that trollkind will pose no threat to the humans here. How does your emperor answer this?”

Damara beckoned an aid of hers to come forward and hand her a scroll. She broke the seal before all of them and delicately unrolled it.

“I do humbly speak the words written by the Scion of the Signless with my unworthy tongue. His words are as thus:

    _Noble humans, like of blood,_

_I send to you good tidings from across the sea. Fear not that we wish you or any of your delicate peoples harm, for despite the actions of the crass insurgents washed upon your shores, the trolls of esteemed blood would have no harm come to you, nor a single drop of your sacred blood spilled. Indeed, they who have done you harm shall come to face the wrath of my exalted ancestor, the Signless Sufferer, just as they shall face my ire once they have been properly handled._

_Beyond the situation on Skaian islands, it is to my understanding that trade by sea and other material matters are long overdue formal negotiations. We wish to share with humans the bounty of Alternia, and to perhaps find something to gain from Skaia, as I have heard humanity is blessed with a multitude of novel creations which may provide joy to trollkind, at least to we of high enough hue to appreciate such things. My diplomat and legate, Princess Damara Megido, has been granted full power to negotiate with your leaders until a proper contract of alliance and mutual benefit is reached._

_Furthermore, to bring greater honor to the agreements between Skaia and Alternia, I propose that we partake in a ritual comparable to one familiar to humans: the rite of “marriage”. One of humanity’s own would become the Consort of the Emperor, and thusly an embodiment of the sacred Disciple made flesh. This would defy a number of traditions as set by trollkind, but the jadeblood trolls possessed of foresight believe that among humankind there is one who would be fit to serve the role which for so long the Mothergrub has failed to produce an appropriate Scion._

_Through this agreement, we will solidify an official alliance, putting it into law that any troll who spills human blood is forfeit their own life, the life of their lusus when possible, and the lives of their quadrantmates. We may also negotiate the removal of the settlements which have been by the brutish and vile lowbloods who bring shame to our species._

_In relation to the aforementioned marriage arrangement, I believe that the most suitable match would be a human of sufficient noble standing, learned and pleasing to the eye, as I know many of your kind are. I do have one personal preference. As you might have noticed, a troll’s eyes reflects the hue of their blood, a trait which I have heard humanity as a whole does not share. I know that a few humans have been blessed with eyes that match the hue of your sacred blood, and if the marriage is to be completely successful I do insist that my human bride be with eyes of that most beautiful hue. This may seem perhaps to be a trivial matter to you humans, but I would have you understand the situation as I do: when I wake in the evening, I would that I be greeted with eyes of greatest beauty from my mate. I could not bear to wake to see the eyes of any lesser color._

_With sincerity and the blessings of the Signless,_

_Kankri Vantas_

_Emperor of all Alternia, Scion of the Sufferer, Carrier of the Sacred Blood, Vessel of the Divine Will of the Signless, Ruler of Trollkind, He Who Bears the Chains of Duty, Pinnacle of the Hemospectrum, Purveyor of Truth and Mercy_

 

Dirk studiously ignored the way Jane’s hand flew to her mouth, and looked away from Prince John as his eyes grew wide with the same terrible epiphany they shared, the same name and face flying through their minds.

King Jaya rubbed his chin “There do exist a rare few humans who possess red eyes. We call them ‘pale folk’, as along with redness of their eyes comes a colorlessness to their skin.   Among the noble lines, however…”

Among their families only Dirk’s younger brother met the Emperor’s specifications. Duke David Strider, nineteen years of age, betrothed since birth to Grand Duchess Jane Crocker.

The king turned to Jane and Dirk in turn. Hesitant to speak. They could not show such hesitation.

"It will take time," Dirk said evenly, "to parse through the available men and women who might meet your emperor's qualifications." In truth, as every face of every noble in the kingdom filed through his head, each clear as though they stood in front of him, only Dave had the correct eyes and rank. However, Dirk was not about to hand him over, not unless they had no other choice.

Jane very quickly agreed that they needed time to find someone.

“We must stress how rare a pale person is among humankind, let alone someone with truly red eyes," she told the troll princess, "some are born with a color which only appears red in certain lights, and blue in another. Of course we would be delighted to come up with a solution without bloodshed, and we would be honored to have one of our own sit beside the troll emperor, but it might be that someone who fits that description simply is not...available."

Possibly Princess Damara already knew of Dave, but Jane might argue his availability if absolutely refused to surrender him, her fiancée.

“Oh my.” Damara’s smile grew a bit sharp, “That is quite the situation. The emperor has made his requests clear…”

King Jaya held his hand up to silence her. “The three of us shall now meet in private. In the meanwhile, my son shall escort you to your rooms.”

Prince John came forward from his spot in the crowd to greet her, just as the Golden Triumvirate departed. The prince, only twenty, smiled too often for a monarch and was doted upon too much for his own good. Dirk could not help but lament that all around him were people with power, and none of them took their duty seriously as he.

 

* * *

 

 

In two months, Jane would meet Dave at the altar, the culmination of years of betrothal made when Dave was newly born and she was a girl of six. Raised in different duchies to prepare for different duties, they did not spend much of their lives together- and how could they? Her emergence into adulthood occurred in the middle of his childhood.

He’d grown up handsome, witty, and charming, abound with life and quick to joke or jump into action. They’d begun meeting more frequently as their wedding approached, and Jane was convinced he would make for a wonderful bride and father of her children.    

King Jaya turned from stern ruler back into her dear uncle when they were alone, he held her close so that when tears started to well up in her eyes she could feel safe in the arms of a loved one.

“Oh, Jane,” the king said, gently and softly, his voice exactly like that of her father, his late twin brother, “we may yet find another way.”

“Your majesty,” Dirk said from the other side of the table, “Jane, we have no time for tears.” She didn’t need to look at him to know that he was looking down at them as much as looking down on them. He would call himself the only level headed person in Skaia, pushing aside personal needs for the kingdom’s gain. But to push aside family, to even consider delivering Dave to them-

“Theodoric,” the king said, growing stern, “these trials take a toll on the heart: do not throw aside compassion, especially not in matters like this.”

Dirk sucked his teeth. “This isn’t forgetting compassion. I’m thinking about Jane. I’m thinking about Dave. I’m also thinking that on Prospitan shores there are scores of creatures, each as strong as ten human warriors, spreading chaos. Emperor Kankri offers to take care of the trolls in exchange for a human bride, it’s not an unfair trade. Besides that, did you not see the look in that woman’s eyes? They already know all about Dave, and we can’t lie to their faces and that we have no one at all to send.”

“We don’t even know if the troll emperor will be good on his word!” Jane said, rubbing her eyes dry. “How much of what he says about ‘sacred blood’ is true? It’s too risky to send Dave to them! We can’t even consider it without an act of good faith.”

“Is that the answer we’ll give her?” At their full heights, Jane was a short and stout woman while Dirk was a tall Dersite man. She was easily ten inches shorter than him, yet she didn’t dare back down once she had gotten up.

“We’ll give it as a possibility,” she said, “we can’t make guarantees to them.”

“We’re agreed on that, Jane, your majesty. I’ll be the last one to say we hand Dave over, not unless they are willing to bend first.”

Her uncle put a firm hand on her shoulder, his other on Dirk’s, and said, brooking no argument,

“Though the nation must come first, we cannot simply dismiss the personal element of this matter. Sit, both of you.”

They both remained quiet as the king fulfilled his personal ritual, removing a box from the pocket in his robe, opening it slowly. Jane had time to breathe and calm her mind as she watched her uncle methodically assemble an ivory tobacco pipe, tap a bit of the blend of dry plant flakes into the bowl, and light a sulfur stick. He moved the exact same way through the exact same steps for years, before Dirk and Jane even had ‘Grand’ assigned to their titles.

“Uncle,” Jane said, “it’s not even just the three of us we need to consider. What about Dave? How would he even be able to manage on his own in the troll lands? He’s no politician.”

Dirk’s look soured. “He’s more than capable of being a bride, be it to you or to Emperor Kankri. He can hold his own as a Strider.”

The king took all of this in with nods of his head. “Taking Dave from Skaia would take his closest bonds from him. He’ll follow through to the best of his ability, I don’t doubt that, but who could he even be sent with?”

The king’s tone made it seem more and more like they were going to send Dave away, to the other side of the sea. She wrenched her eyes shut and placed a hand over her stomach.

“We cannot continue talking about sending Dave away at this time,” she confessed, bowing her head, “I insist. Not until I know for sure…We have to stall them however we can until we find out if my blood cycle comes this month. Dave and I…” less than a month ago in that very palace where the wedding plans were coming together, they met alone in Dave’s room… “until less than an hour ago our marriage was guaranteed, so we saw no harm in spending time intimately.”

Dirk buried his face in his hands. “Damn it, both of you.”

Her uncle laughed quietly and tried to cover it with a cough. “Extending negotiations with the troll legate seems to be the best idea either way. While we wait on that piece of information, we can see if there’s any way to change the emperor’s mind, or find some alternative altogether.”

Jane tried to smile. Within a month’s time, the fate of her family and the known world would be decided on what was or was not inside of her.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days’ travel from the shining palace of the Egbert family lay the jewel of Derse, the Lolar province, overseen by twin duchesses Rosanna and Roxanne Lalonde. The grasslands stretched green and beautiful across the horizon save for the hottest weeks of the dry season. There, cattle were fat and crops plentiful. There, between the pillars of the Lalonde’s massive palace of stone and clay, Dave Strider stood in silence to gaze up at the full moon. In the day he was restless and needed to keep his hands moving or his leg bouncing but in the dark of night he was still except to tap his finger against his arm.

He heard the jingle of bangles and necklaces, announcing one of the Lalondes had come to see him long before she called out.

“Why Dave, what are you doing out here in the dark?” The elder twin, Rosanna, approached him with a blanket in her hands.   “Could it be that you’ve taken up the art of staring blankly into nothing, being slowly consumed by your own thoughts while slowly descending into madness? I’m shocked and offended you didn’t seek me out first for my expertise in the matter.” 

He cracked a grin but waved off the blanket she offered him. “I’d never upstage you as the mysterious mystic everyone thinks you are.” 

She draped the blanket over him anyway. “Thank you for your consideration. One without their persona has nothing, after all. Speaking of, I’ve noticed you lagging as the carefree musician and blushing bride-to-be. Care to share what’s going through your mind?” 

“Rose, you’ve got to be freezing. At least I’m wearing a shirt.” In Lolar as many parts of Derse, women and men walked about bare-chested, though the elaborate beaded necklaces fashionable in Lolar were almost clothes in and of themselves. Rose favored a net of delicate gold pieces adorning her neck and the hems of her skirts, while her twin preferred bright glass beads in many shapes and colors. Dave had to keep himself covered with fabric when the sun was bright, which was often. The light of the sun was unkind to palefolk. That was just a fact, and there was no harm in the moniker. “Skinless” was the word used by anyone looking to start a fight.

If Rose was at all cold, she did not show it. She was his cousin, practically his sister, but sometimes she was inscrutable even to him.

“Two months until the wedding,” she said airily, “that is, if the gods are willing to see it through.”

Dave barked out a laugh and rested his forehead against his hand. “Only thing I’m asking from the gods is to stay away from this whole thing. Thank you, we can take it from here, no divine interference needed.”

In truth, he didn’t know why Rose brought them up at all. To speak of the gods was to draw their attention, which was not necessarily a blessing. For Dave, it tended to be the opposite. For the most part though, they left him alone where he could contend to mortal affairs, such as his role as a bride. Skaian marriages were legal partnerships, and things like gender did not have to come into consideration when arranging matches. A bride and groom could be any gender, but the roles and laws governing them were steadfast: a bride left one family for another, and the groom welcomed the bride into their family. Jane would welcome him into the Crocker home, and he found himself actually excited about it.

A smile played on his lips when he remembered the few times he and Jane had managed to have nights alone and consummate their marriage before the actual wedding. Why wait when they had been betrothed their whole lives? If it hadn’t been for Prospitan augurs demanding that the wedding take place in that specific year on that specific date, they could have married three years before when Dave had turned sixteen. Instead of moongazing from Lolar with Rose, he might be enjoying the view from the Grand Duchess’ palace with his wife at his side and a child in his arms.

Prospitans and their damn fortunetelling meant that their offsprings’ names would be decided by careful astrological calculations. Were their situations reversed and Jane was his bride, coming into his family, they could follow Dersite naming conventions.  Silly Prospitan name or no, he was anywhere from a few months to a scant few years away from seeing his and Jane’s firstborn.

 A hand on his shoulder shook him from those thoughts. Rose turned his head and looked into his eyes as if to scry them.

 “You are so at peace with what is to come. Perhaps my worries were unfounded after all. I thought maybe it was the case that you wanted out of this all at the last minute.”

 “What? Why? I know I’m not madly in love with Jane but I like her plenty, you probably couldn’t think up a better match than that. I’ve practiced signing all my papers ‘David Crocker’ and everything. In Prospitan and Dersite.” He nudged away from her hand.

 Rose tightened her hold on Dave’s chin. “I am most serious. Put some stock in my intuition for once, for I fear that Dirk may return from the meeting with the Alternian delegation with ill tidings. He was beyond his typical nervous antics when we last met, though I suppose you might have been too caught up in romantic entanglements to even notice.”

 At that, Dave knocked away her hand with more force than he’d intended to use. “Better caught up in my wedding than sulking and hiding from Roxy. I guess I’ve been too busy daydreaming about my bridal party to notice her crying when she thinks she’s alone.”

Perhaps he’d gone too far. Rose looked very much like she wanted to strike out at him, but held her temper back and kept her body still.   Dave watched and waited for her to do something, be it leave or speak to him.

 He glanced to his right, southward, to where the Golden Triumvirate met in the king’s palace. If trouble did stir, the wedding might be postponed and then it would probably take another three years for the perfect celestial alignment or whatever it was that got Prospitan augurs so exhaustingly stubborn. Stars twinkled above the horizon. Let the stars and the gods keep to themselves, let people pull their own carts and walk their own paths, thought Dave.

 Golden beads chimed as Rose took a step closer and rested her forehead on Dave’s shoulder.

“I want to be happy for you,” she confessed, “I want to be happy for you and Jane. I am happy for you, and I’m sure you’ll be wonderful together. I also…wish I was happy for Roxy. I want to be, she is so sweet and kind and wonderful and she deserves John, and he deserves her. I should not have even entertained the idea that John would rather marry me, even if I had pursued him more ardently…”

 “You didn’t want to hurt Roxy.” Dave let her rest against him without moving. Rose did always hate when people saw her upset.

 “If it was me he had chosen, she would be the one feeling this way. As for myself…” she attempted a humorless laugh, “I do not think anyone deserves me. I would not wish myself upon anyone.”

 To that, Dave turned around and gave her a tight hug.

 “Rosanna. Rose. Don’t do this to yourself. Let’s just be there for John and Roxy, and then we’ll find you someone. I promise, there’s someone out there making offerings to their ancestors. ‘Noble spirits, help guide me to someone who lives in a library more than any other room, who plays the goje, who keeps feral cats-‘”

 He saw her crack a smile as she said, “They are not feral, they simply do not care for you.”

 He countered, “They are vicious as hyenas and devious as spiders, they just like you and Roxy.” One of those damn things was likely close enough to hear the conversation, they had their run of the Lalonde palace. “That’s not the point. Roxy and John love each other, and we have to put on smiles and cheer for them even if it hurts.”

 She nodded her head, her many tiny braids with their gold beads softly jingling against each other. “What of you and Jane? Are you certain that the two of you will ever be like that?”

 Dave hadn’t wanted the conversation to turn back around to him, and could offer little more than a shrug. “We like each other. We might love each other. If not, we’ll take lovers. It’s not the end of the world to fall in love with someone you’re not married to.”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made it to Chapter Three...and to the Alternian Empire! Thanks to everyone who left comments, it really helped me get this chapter out :)
> 
> A few things I forgot to mention in previous notes:  
> This story was originally inspired by an rp I did with Ramabear/RyMagnatar a few years back. None of the stuff actually written here was used in that rp, but credit where credit is due we originally came up with the concept of "Trigger Warning: Emperor Kankri" together but after we discontinued the rp I sort of...took it and ran and also changed most of the story? I just went and made everything complicated xD
> 
> I hope you all enjoy! I've been trying to find a job and it's been really hard on me, that's why I'm so late. I guess I can't really be 'late' since I never put out an actual chapter schedule. Gosh, if I could get the spoons to write a chapter a week, I'd be in heaven. 
> 
> I've had this story in R&D for a number of years after the original rp ended. This is sort of my magnum opus, so any encouragement would be really appreciated!

Across the sea high tide swept into the harbor and scores of seadwellers took to the waves and the ships docked there, armed with stone tools to scrape off barnacles from the undersides of the vessels.

Among them was a troll wearing thin rags. He stood out in a crowd because of his lovely symmetrical horns which arched and crested like a wave and a forelock the same bright violet as his blood. Far as anyone above his caste was concerned, he was the same as the other gutterbloods taking assignments from the teal dock masters and working for an honest night’s pay. To his fellow violetbloods in that town, Eridan Ampora had something of a reputation as being exceptionally easy to hate. Fortunately for him, to be hated was quite the boon among trolls though not, as a human might suspect, because a fierce reputation might stave off those who would do him harm. “Friend” and “enemy” meant almost the same thing to a troll: someone whose existence mattered, whether for good or ill.

The tealblood troll looked up at Eridan when it was his turn for an assignment, and flipped through a pocketbook.

“Sunspotter,” the little troll wheezed, tapping the page with his claw, “three ships down that-a-ways, with the figurehead that’s got no head. Get to it.”

Eridan headed down the way, counting the ships to get the right one- the vessel names were painted on the sides of the ships in bold Alternian print, but the symbols meant nothing to him, nor to any other sub-cobalt blooded troll. With tools and task in hand, he dropped off the edge of the dock into the water.

The sea was only freezing for a moment. Clear eyelids slid shut to shield his eyes and the gills along his ribs and neck flared open for breath.

He carried the scraper between his fangs as he swam to the ship, where two others were already at work. They gave him a wave before getting back to work, and he latched on the ship to join them.

Barnacle scraping underwater was as much a job as a punishment, far as Eridan thought. The rocking of the waves and the ship made it difficult to stay in place, pushing him away or knocking him up against the damn thing if he wasn’t careful. Barnacles didn’t want to leave a ship’s underbelly for anything and even a seadweller had to put some muscle into it, despite being physically stronger than any human and even most other trolls.

The pay was shit- two caegars for the labor, but Eridan preferred it to the alternatives: getting sent to the town’s jail for even harder work for no pay at all for the unspoken (and he had to assume unwritten) crime of being a lowblood without honest work, or getting caught up in what was politely referred to as ‘concupiscent servitude’.

Words and sounds changed underwater, but seadwellers could hear and speak just fine despite it. Inspectors, other seadwellers given just enough coin and rank from the landdwellers to feel superior to their castemates, swam to and fro to make sure that the lowly anti-foulers weren’t slacking. So long as they worked, they could talk and even sing as they liked.

 Eridan heard the violets on the next ship over singing one of the local songs, a favorite called ‘The Shores of Skaia”. He started humming along while the familiar words rang in his ears:

_An ol’ finned fuck told me this tale  
said: “swear on my ancestor’s pail,_

_I heard a ten who tried to sail,_

_Sail to the shores a Skaia!_

_Ten violet fiends, each one a curse_

_Gold stained their blades (and lined their purse)!_

_I swear I ne’er heard a any worse_

_Sailing to the shores a Skaia!_

_They’d ne’er a quadrant t’wasn’t black_

_They’d stab a moirail in the back_

_Who’d pity any of that pack_

_Sailing to the shores a Skaia?_

 

So it went for a number of verses before they came to the end of that song and started up another, with the three on Sunspotter joining in. So they spent four hours, until their gills began to falter and they needed to come up to breathe above water.

Scores of seadwellers breached the surface and clamored up the docks to give their gills a rest. Older violets claimed that, once upon a time, the seadwellers could live underwater indefinitely, aided by the dark magic of the Witch and her Beast. Violets who spent too long a time underwater, they warned, would go insane from the differences in pressure and the horrorterrors that lurked far from where even the sun’s light could reach. Madness or weak gills, which was the greater curse?

He looked northward, beyond the ships and into the moonlit horizon. The real shores of Skaia were said to be bathed in warmth and shade, home to gentle humans, full of bounty, and now populated by a number of trolls who managed to buy, cheat, or (as some rumors claimed) swim their way over there.

Was the possibility of such a place worth the risk of a lifetime in chains or a slow, painful death for attempting to defect from the empire? Every night, Eridan started to get more and more ideas in his head about what lie on the other side of the sea, away from the town he’d spent most of his post-pupation life.

Before he could get too lost in thought, a face breached the water, a large freshly killed fish between his needle sharp teeth. Eridan knew him- an older seadweller by the name of Attuva Ceuroz, a tale-spinner and filthy cheat with long hair and short, needle-sharp horns.

Eridan clasped Attuva’s arm and helped him up on the dock. “When did you find the time to catch that?”

Attuva tore his catch in half and handed the tail side to Eridan. “I got a ways with the fish, they just come right to me. Ancient seadweller gift.”

He happily accepted the half fish (even though anyone would rather have the head) and snapped it down bones and all. “Ancient seadweller gifts my horns. You

“I’m older than the rest’a this sorry lot,” he waved his arm at the seadwellers milling about on the docks. “All like you- not even past their first hundred mark. You even turn thirty yet?”

“Twenty,” Eridan admitted with a grumble, “not that any a that really matters.”

 Attuva tsked and shook his head. “Sweet little grub. Two-hundred years is plenty of time for a troll to learn a trick or two for catching fish, might as well be ancient seadweller magic. Lots of time to get experience in a few other areas too.” He leaned in closer, his voice dripping with suggestion. Eridan gently shoved his face away.

“You’re repulsive. Told you already- I ain’t being unfaithful to my _kismesis_.”

The other troll narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. “Your loss, Ampora. But your _kismesis’_ ship ain’t coming back for another two months, and that’s an awful long time to be on your lonesome. You think she’s returning the favor?”

Eridan rolled his eyes. “Your concern touches my heart, truly. Let’s be honest though- if you really wanted me in bed you should’a given me the fish head at the very least. Ain’t no one teach you manners?”

“You ain’t all that pretty, Ampora. Few less scars and scowls, maybe I’d give you a fish head or two. Might even have some warmer trolls trying to get you into softer work. Better than this shit, right?”

Eridan wasn’t so sure. Concupiscent servitude had a sort of allure to it- plenty of songs and stories about lowbloods who end up the concubines of the elite castes thanks to wit, charm, and beauty. Perhaps he’d have considered it if he lived in a different town; Mouth-of-the-Sea’s elite were miserly old bronze and yellow trolls, and its lone burgundy prince was the worst of the lot. Prince Phayar Seknit certainly had an interest in taking lower trolls into his bed, just not with letting them leave whole and unbroken.

With a sigh and a final breath above water, he dove back into the sea to return to work.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay SO
> 
> This is coming in MUCH LATER than I expected. Even though I don't have a set deadline for these chapters, I do intend to put them out a little more frequently than this.
> 
> The reason why I'm so late with this one is that I recently moved to Japan and am getting adjusted to my new life and my new job here. It's pretty insane! A lot of my time has been spent working as an English teacher, studying Japanese, and relaxing with some video games.
> 
> I've started a new Tumblr called Trigger Warning: Emperor Kankri https://twemperorkankri.tumblr.com/ so please stop by for information about delays, as well as a place to submit questions and to see sketches, commissions, and fanart for the story.

Dave strummed his seperewa¹ absentmindedly, his eyes on the setting sun outside his bedroom window. He plucked the cords to a well-rehearsed song and sang:

_“Desert and stone shall hinder his way_

_light of the world shine brightly this day_

_The bride leaves the village_

_he travels so far-"_

 

A knock on his door made him pluck a sour note, and he made a sour face. “Can a man not practice his wedding songs in peace?”

 “Nope!” His cousin Roxy giggled outside the door. “Let me in! I have things to tell you, it’s all very, very important.”

 Even if it wasn’t important, he would always open his door for one of his cousins. As of late, he was a tad more enthusiastic about opening the door for Roxy than Rose, if only because he and Roxy would get to talking about their respective weddings and grooms.   When he opened the door, Roxy hugged him enthusiastically.

 “Dirk is here!” Roxy tugged on his arm playfully “Stop daydreaming about Janey, we’re going to see him.”

 Dave put on a show of being put upon, sighing heavily and dragging his feet through the room. If he didn’t, he would end up doing what he really wanted, which was to run to whatever room Dirk had holed himself up in and beg for all the information his brother had about his friends and fiancée. Roxy seemed especially excited by his brother’s return- was she just happy to see him after a number of weeks away, or had Dirk given her a bit of good news? It could be that John had passed on a message.

 It could be that Jane had gotten pregnant.

Dave had to fight to keep his composure- it wouldn’t do to see a Duke of Derse running down the stone halls with a lunatic’s grin but who would blame him if he did? He could, at that moment, be months away from his first child with Jane. Would it be a boy, a girl, or both? What would it look like? Maybe it would be lucky enough to have skin that could withstand sunlight without blistering and burning.

His thoughts turning, he hardly registered Roxy leading him down the halls of the Lalonde Palace. His bare feet slapped against the stone floors, cold from the night and the shade.   Then his ear was pinched.

 “Gods, what was that for?” He batted Roxy’s hand away.

 She only laughed and grabbed his nose. “Because you’ve got your head in the clouds and I need you down here.   He and Rose are already gossiping, bet you my cats.”

 Dave would bet his eye that Dirk and Rose would take offense to their scheming being called something as trite as ‘gossip’. He ought to look for an opportunity to do just that. As the younger siblings, he and Roxy had a duty to uphold in antagonizing their elders when the mood of the room was light enough for joking.

 "Your Graces," one of the four guards in the hall stood up straight and lifted his spear in salutation. The other three couldn’t be bothered to do more than nod their heads at the young monarchs. Getting any of Dirk’s personal bodyguards to show respect or decorum was an exercise in futility. Distinguished warriors handpicked by their father himself, the Midnight Crusaders had the battle prowess to excuse their shoddy manners.. One of the warriors, a one-eyed man named Jack Noir, knocked and announced, "Duke David and Duchess Roxanne have arrived."

 "Let them in."

 The Grand Duke of Derse had no windows in his study, only candles and braizers and small vents to carry the smoke from the room.

 Dave took up a stool beside his brother's desk and did his best to keep his leg still while it wanted to expose his restlessness by moving about.  

 

“Dave, your betrothal to Jane is over. There’s a new marriage arrangement for you.”

 

Dave’s eyes widened. In some attempt to emulate their father, Dirk must have told a cruel joke to get a rise out of him. Rose was putting on the straightest, gravest face he had ever seen.   He waited for the reveal.

 Seconds dragged on in silence, and with each one Dave felt his visions for the future shatter the way glass shatters on stone: loudly and violently.  

 “When did that happen? The wedding is in two months and no one objected to it for nineteen years, who swooped down to steal me off?” _And who let it turn out that way?_ “There’s only two men in Skaia who even could, and unless John or the king have been secretly pinning for me all this time…” _or perhaps Jane called it all off, what if she didn’t want him and his brother wanted Dave to save face?_

 Dirk shrugged and drummed his fingers on the table. How magnanimous and patient of him to wait for Dave to come to terms with the news. “Emperor Kankri of Alternia wants a human bride, and that bride is you. Don’t scowl at me, I tried to get you out of it.”

 Dave believed him, but he didn’t believe his brother tried as much as he could.   His eyes flickered to Rose, who did not met his eyes. He didn’t need to face Roxy to know the expression on her face, he heard her choked attempts at a protest.

“But…Jane and Dave…”

But Jane and Dave indeed. They would have married. They prepared all their lives to marry each other, to have children together. As their wedding approached, Dave anticipated that life happily, even if Jane herself didn’t spark passions in him. Love? He did love her, in a quiet, familial way. He could imagine growing to love her more; spending years with someone as a partner could do that if they liked each other enough.

Dave could bid farewell to the life he thought he’d live and defer to his brother. Even if he could legally disobey Dirk, he wouldn’t; habits like that ran too deeply.

 Dave took to acting the part of a woe-begotten thespian, hand on his chest and all, coupled with a flat tone. “Oh, pain and sorrow, oh how I suffer. I’ll never love again. My little feelings have shriveled like dates left to dry and you leave me a shallow husk of the brother you tolerated for so long.” Then, a little softer, “How is Jane taking it?”

 “She’s fine. She know that these things happen,” Dirk said with a careless shrug, “and she’ll find another bride.” He proved to Dave once again that he couldn’t imagine people with emotions about things, no matter how politically sound.

 Rose cleared her throat delicately. “Although the vote in the triumvirate was unanimous, I doubt that Jane was so willing to surrender her husband to Emperor Kankri. Let us speak plainly, shall we? You, Jane, and the King of Kings himself are frightened of the trolls.”

Dirk whipped his head around to glare at Rose. “Cautious. We are _cautious_ around trolls.”

“No need to put on airs, you’re with family.” She continued on, “We have the right to be frightened of them, the same way we would fear a hungry lion or a cruel spirit. They are powerful, strange, and not easily defeated. Why should we not leap and cling to the simplest solution, one handed to us by those very creatures?”  Her face was inscrutable, but she circled around to Dave’s side of the desk and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Why should we not break apart a happy union in order to placate the creatures across the sea? As for the ones on our shores, I’m certain that once the outlaw trolls learn that a human has married their emperor they’ll happily sail back to meet their imprisonments and executions.”

Dave formed his thoughts but kept silent. It was only his marriage they were talking about, none of his business.

 Roxy put her hand on his other shoulder, he knew it was hers because of the metal of her rings. “She’s right, you all rushed into this. Dave and Jane are a great match, and there’s not another Strider hiding anywhere.”

“That is not your problem to deal with.” Dirk said, his scowl deepening. “The two of you aren’t looking beyond this room. What I see is the chance to have a Skaian with unprecedented access to Alternia’s highest troll. Dave will have the emperor’s ear.”

 Sure, Dave thought, and I’ll be filling it with everything Dirk orders me to tell him.

 Dave brushed his cousins’ hands from his shoulders. “We already know I’ll do it, so stop arguing already. I might not want to sail over to Alternia and have to learn how to survive being the shortest person in the city, and I sure as fuck don’t want to leave Skaia. Alternian food is disgusting. They don’t have battle dancing, and I’ll lose my five year winning streak by heading there.” He looked away so that he wouldn’t be tempted to admit that he couldn’t give fewer shits about the dance tournament or even the food, but rather the people in that room and in the palace not too far away.

“But,” he said, rolling his eyes, “as all of us good little monarchs of Derse know: our lives are not our own. I’m going. Happy we’ve had this conversation, when am I leaving?”

 “You will set sail within the month.”

 The harsh jingle of gold and a slamming door announced Rose’s departure. Roxy preferred to stay at his side, hugging him from behind. “You’re too noble, you know? I just want us to stay together forever- we’re all we have.” She was probably near tears and Dave couldn’t do anything but awkwardly pat her hand.

 Dirk didn’t meet his eyes, and Dave wanted to tell him to look at him. Look at him and say something for changing his future so drastically without warning. _Look at me,_ he almost said _, for once in my life look at me, before you never get the chance again._

 Habits ran deep, and Dave had long learned to keep his silence when he felt words of disrespect rise in his throat to be hurled against his brother, and their father when he still lived. Anyone else would feel the sting of his tongue.

“But first, I get to go to the palace and say goodbye. Invite Jane to be there, and John, and Jade Harley. Fuck, I want the big bridal party they were about to throw for me anyway.”

 With a heavy heart, he anticipated Dirk’s refusal. He prepared himself to hear that he couldn’t see his friends one last time before boarding a ship to be carted to Alternia.

 “That is…” he ran his hand through his hair, “acceptable. The king will insist you need a proper bridal party. You deserve one.”

 Dave wasn't able to offer his brother a smile, but at least he managed to nod before gently removing himself from Roxy's hug and leaving the room.

 ‘Those who accept their fate,’ he’d heard from storytellers much older and presumably wiser than him, ‘will find joy. Those who defy fate put themselves at the mercy of the gods.’

 

‘Joy’ wasn’t likely in the new arrangement, but keeping peace between the humans of Skaia and the trolls of Alternia would have to suffice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¹Seperewa (also called a Seprewa and/or Sanku) is a sort of harp/lute from Ghana. Since there are no turntables in this story, I picked a different instrument that I figured Dave might be able to jam to. He also knows how to play a few different kinds of drums.
> 
>  
> 
> I'm super insecure about writing this fanfic, so any positive words would be great. I admit I bask in it. I print out nice comments and roll around in them when I'm feeling blue. Thanks to everyone who has commented and kudos, you keep me alive.


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